Zeus Progress Report IIIn a followup to last week's progress report, Impressions's Kraken posted the following to the official forum today:

The game is fully implemented -- we just reached that milestone last night. Our remaining time is mainly for playbalancing and polish. We received a ton of valuable feedback from the Beta testers, but that phase is almost over. Zeus is right on schedule and looking good.

I'm slapping myself about the face with a kipper again today, since I missed last week's GameSpot gameplay movie. It's a bit of a biggie for me (hell, I spend too much time online as it is ), so if anyone grabs it, feel free to drop me a line to let me know what it's like.

Ye Olde Minimappe NewseImpressions's Kraken has responded to fears about the minimap not being available all the time in Zeus:

The radar map is always present on the Overview tab. There's a toggle at the top of the Control Panel that lets you swap between the information panel and the radar map on any tab. It's literally one click away at any given time.

Preview and Screens at SpieleCityGerman site SpieleCity has posted a preview of Zeus, which also contains a bagload of screenshots (thanks VE).

As one might expect from a German site, it's full of Teutonic language. If you can't already speak German, and don't fancy getting the Berlitz phrase book out for this one, you might like to stick the URL into Babelfish for a (very) rough and ready translation.

DailyRadar Zeus PreviewThe guys at SailyRadar have posted a short preview of Zeus. Seems as if they liked what they saw:

From what we've seen so far, Impressions is on track to offer a more widely appealing game. Clearly people like this type of realtime strategy; this city-building series has sold millions of copies, Sim City has sold millions of copies and there are folks around the office that enjoy Age of Empires II because of the city-building aspect. The series has been a big success for Impressions so far, and we think Zeus will carry on that tradition. Look for it in October.

Zeus Progress ReportImpressions's Kraken posted a Zeus progress report on the official forum today. Seems like all is going pretty much according to plan. It's a biggie, so only a wee snippet here:

The team somehow keeps pushing harder, even after working overtime for many weeks. The game is nearing completion, but we'll use every available hour until our deadline to keep improving it. We're confident that Zeus will ship on time as a fun, highly polished game that won't disappoint you.

More Foodstuff FodderKraken posted a follow-up to a post he made last week concerning foodstuffs in Zeus. Angel Draco's comments, which prompted Kraken's reply, are denoted here in italics:

It's a double-edged sword. It is very convenient to simply be able to send "food" (any type of food) to fullfil a request. But, on maps where there are multiple food types available to grow/manufacture, there really wont be any practical reason to grow more than one type of food.

Kraken: You underrate our Adventure creators, Draco. You will still be happy to have multiple food types available in some Episodes, mainly because of the logistics involved in producing each type and the limited nature of meadow terrain. Farms and goats (cheese) must sometimes compete with olive trees and grapes (industries) for valuable meadow space. In such cases, urchins or fish will be welcome indeed.Combining individual foods into generic "food" greatly simplifies the distribution and trade interfaces. It's a change for the better.

Screenies up for viewingComing to you via Blue Towers today is news that gamescreenshots.com have posted a bunch of screenshots (now who'd have guessed with a site called gamescreenshots.com ?) from Zeus.

Also on the eye-candy front, we have some new concept art which has been posted on the official site.

Zeus Preview at GamecenterThanks to Angel Gustavia for bringing this one to my attention...

Gamecenter has posted a Zeus preview, complete with a bucketload of screenshots. Here's their overall impression:

Chris Beatrice says he and the whole Zeus team want to make sure that Zeus: Master of Olympus is not only easy to pick up and learn but an enjoyable experience from start to finish. "[Gamers] will not have a hard time building a beautiful, thriving city, but that's where the game really picks up. They may face an invasion, or be beseeched by a god for a favor. Perhaps they will want to start a colony that could provide the city with more oil and fleece." Throw in the original Olympic games, the great philosophers, random attacks by mythical monsters, and visits from Heracles and the other great heroes, and you have a city-building game of amazing depth that Beatrice and team hope is "a very refreshing gaming experience."

I'm not sure how I missed this one last week, but Impressions's Kraken hit this thread in our forums to dish a bit of dirt on the various foodstuffs available:

"Pigs" are wild boars. They range freely and must be hunted. Urchin collectors and fishing wharves are separate buildings. Urchins inhabit shallow waters, and their collectors wade to retrieve them. Fish are found in deep water. Cheese comes from goats. To simplify the role of foodstuffs on the world level, all food types become generic "food" for purposes of sending gifts, making requests and trading -- that is, any food type will satisfy a food request. Multiple food types are no longer required for housing evolution.

So, while there's considerable variety in the way individual foods are obtained, the actual distribution and exchange of food is a bit easier.

FiringSquad Zeus PreviewComing to you via Evil Avatar, we have news today of a Zeus preview (complete with a bucketload of shots from what looks to me like the beta version) at FiringSquad. Overall, they seem to like what they see, and here's a little snippet to get those old juices flowing:

Of course, a strong city is much better able to handle itself in the open world. Impressions has beefed up the world interaction aspect so you have more opposing city-states to fight off, ally with or ignore at your leisure. Heroes will be wandering the countryside as well, fighting off random monsters or helping people at leisure. It's likely that no hero will be "yours" - they just do good deeds all around.

Sanctuaries = MonumentsThanks to Sheila for pointing this thread on the official forum out to me. In it, Kraken goes on a bit about Sanctuaries, and compares them to Pharaoh's pyramids:

The only assembled buildings in Zeus are Sanctuaries to the gods. The Sanctuaries vary in size according to each god's importance, but none are as large as the big pyramids in Pharaoh. Sanctuary-building is not the major challenge in Zeus, although some of the larger ones will require significant time and resources.

Worker Walkers AbolishedWow, here's something a bit different. Kraken posted the following to this thread in the official forum stating that walkers sent out to seek workers have been abolished completely in Zeus:

> Pharaoh roadblocks were like "stop signs" for random > walkers and of course, peasants looking for workers > would stop there too.

That was the main problem with Roadblocks. Rather than making Roadblocks configurable, Zeus removes labor access walkers altogether. A building that has road access gains workers automatically, assuming your city has sufficient labor. That simplification makes Roadblocks much, much more effective.